“You can spend most of the day just kicking back in a lawn chair and listening to music,” said Beth Goodwin, director of marketing and public relations.

This year's festival at the Historic Huntsville Depot features 20 live performances, including headliner John Anderson and country acts Confederate Railroad and Shenandoah.

Anderson began his country music career in 1977 with his first single, “I’ve Got a Feelin,’ ” and has had more than 40 singles hit the Billboard country music charts. “Wild and Blue,” “Swingin’”, “Black Sheep”, “Straight Tequila Night” and “Money in the Bank” have all been No. 1 hits.

Another WhistleStop music highlight will be Secret Sisters, the Muscle Shoals country/folk singing duo. Sisters Laura and Lydia Rogers are best known for their timeless vocal harmonies. They released a self-titled album in 2010, and their tornado-inspired song "Tomorrow Will Be Kinder" was recently featured on the "Hunger Games" movie soundtrack.

Laura Rogers said they are excited about WhistleStop, because they’re coming off a break from touring and she’s eager to perform again.

However, she won’t be able to partake in at least one part of the WhistleStop tradition.

“Actually, I’ve become a vegetarian,” she said. “But my family loves barbecue, and when I ate meat, I was really into barbecue. So I have to admit, that may be a little tempting. I heard there will be some good barbecue. I thought, well, if only they could make it out of something that wasn’t an animal.”

The live performances at WhistleStop will be divided on two stages: The Main Stage will feature well-known acts, and the Home Brew Stage will feature performers with strong local connections.